


Lost Cry

by InnerGlow11



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Just know it's sad, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Lots of it, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Time (Linked Universe), Protective Twilight (Linked Universe), Rescue Missions, Time (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Twilight (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Wild (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, no beta we die like men, some tags omitted for spoilers reasons, will add tags as I go cause spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerGlow11/pseuds/InnerGlow11
Summary: It happened so suddenly. They’d just been making camp, the Pup and Wild going off to hunt, when an arrow whizzed by and they were suddenly in battle, those inverted eyes taunting them. They’d dealt with Yiga before, but only a few on the road. This was a prepared ambush with enough men to have at least one for each hero.Too bad the heroes weren't prepared for them.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So. I know I still have Shadows of the Broken, but I actually have more chapters for it, I just haven't edited them yet. :D Sorry. I'll get to those, I swear. I just have had this idea for a while and I literally binge watched lets plays of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask in order to write this. Which was actually really fun, but still, I was anxious to write this. So in a fever of inspiration I wrote this whole chapter in one day and I'm really excited to share all this with you. Have fun. ;)

It happened so suddenly. They’d just been making camp, the Pup and Wild going off to hunt, when an arrow whizzed by and they were suddenly in battle, those inverted eyes taunting them. They’d dealt with Yiga before, but only a few on the road. This was a prepared ambush with enough men to have at least one for each hero. With each swing of his Biggoron Sword the Yiga member backed up, only realizing his predicament when he found a sword through his stomach. Warriors pulled his sword back out as the man fell over and Time gave him an appraising look. The soldier scoffed and waved his hand, then turned back to battle. That was enough for Time, the man knew his limits, so he looked across their camp turned battlefield.

Warriors was going to help a cornered Legend, who was sure to be mad about that later, Sky and Wind were tag teaming a pair of Yiga and doing just fine, Hyrule was facing two and looking a little worse for wear, and Four was pulling his own blade from a body. Their eyes met, the little man giving him his asking look a reassuring nod, before following his look at Hyrule and running over. Time moved to join them as he heard another poof next to him. A Yiga had noticed he was distracted. But it misjudged how fast he was. He planted his feet and spun his blade into its stomach, causing it to squeak in surprise, then fall limp. By the time he turned back, all but Hyrule and Four were done with their battles, and those two seemed to be finishing up, if the man’s cry at Hyrule’s blast of fire meant anything. The last of their foes down, Time called, “Injuries?”

“A cut,” Warriors replied, pointing to a bleeding cut above his eyebrow.

“Just a few scrapes,” Legend said, glaring at Warriors.

“I’ve got a cut,” Hyrule says a bit shakily. Looking closer, it seems one of the sickles got him on the stomach. Time looks to Four and he nods as he leads Hyrule to the packs for potions.

“Wind has some bruised ribs,” Sky says, holding a squirming sailor by the arm, which then proceeds to Wind insisting that he’s fine. Sky and Warriors take him to the packs anyways.

Legend is glaring at Warriors’ back when Time walks over.

“You sure you’re alright?”

“I’m just fine Old Man. I know myself and this is nothing.”

“Doesn’t mean you don’t need something.”

“I _said_ I’m fine you worry wart. ...What about you?”

“I didn’t get hit.”

Legend eyes him, but seems to find this accurate as his eyes turn back to the others and he says, “How do you think Wild and Twi are?”

Time pauses, giving it thought, before replying, “They’re fine. They know how to fight. They probably weren’t even fighting.”

“Why’s that?”

“The Yiga attacked after they left. Long enough they would be far enough away to not hear. They wanted two less heroes here so it’d be easier to kill us.”

Legend nods and makes an agreeing noise before he stomps over to Warriors and smacks him on the head. The soldier shrieks in indignation as Legend proceeds to rip him a new one for coming to his aid. Of course, Warriors counters by saying he wasn’t going to let him fend for himself, which turns into Legend saying he can fend for himself, and then the bickering continues but Time has stopped listening. With everything back to normal, he goes about fixing up the camp and dragging bodies away, something the others eventually come help him with, until everything is good again and their stomachs are starting to rumble. The sun has started setting and the others are nowhere in sight. Wind complains about having no food and Warriors tries to distract him, but Time is starting to get worried now. Even if Wild had gotten distracted, the Pup would have made sure they’d gotten back by now. Maybe they had-

A rustling comes from the bushes and all heads turn, some reaching for their weapons, others with hopeful expressions. A whine comes from the foliage just before a furry face pokes through.

“Wolfie!” Wind squeals and runs over as the wolf comes all the way out of the bushes, everyone relaxing and starting to smile. But Time keeps his eyes on the forest, waiting for someone else to come out with him. A wet nose on his hand draws his gaze to his Pup. His protege looks unharmed, which takes a weight off his shoulders, but the wolf has a pitiful expression and is whining. Crouching to his level, Time ruffles the fur on his head and whispers, “Is something wrong? Where’s Wild?”

Whining louder, the wolf steps back and walks hurriedly to the edge of the camp. In a different direction from where he came into or left the camp. Frown deepening, Time follows him, pausing as his Pup looks back at him with pleading eyes. Something is wrong.

“Wolfie?”

The wolf howls mournfully, dancing in place, then looks back at them again. Four comes forward and asks, “Are they somewhere out there?”

The wolf howls mournfully again.

“Are they hurt?”

A whine. Legend curses as Four nods and says, “Then I’ll go with you.”

Time can see that just about everyone is about to jump in, and he’d love to do the same, but-

“Sky and Legend, you’ll join him. The rest of you will stay in camp with me.”

A chorus of complaints follow, but they are quelled easily and the party sets out. Time needs a bit of time to puzzle this out anyways. Why didn’t Twilight come to them as a human if he needed to tell them something? And why was Wild in such a different direction than he should have been? This didn’t quite make sense, but he was sure the Pup would explain it eventually, so he shrugged his shoulders and set to making dinner, as it seemed their cook wouldn’t be able to today. He wasn’t the best at this, he knew, but they had worse cooks here.

It takes a few hours for them to come back, by which time everyone else has fallen asleep and the food is cold, yet they scarf it down anyways, and they’re able to tell him why they have no Wild or Twilight with them.

“We followed him for a while,” Four says, “hours, actually, but they still weren’t anywhere. We don’t know how far they are, but we didn’t see anything of them and we didn’t just want to leave you guys here, so we decided to turn back.”

“But what if they need our help?” Time inquires.

“That’s what I said!” Legend shrieks, “But they said we should have everyone and see what we should do as a group and… well, they’re right.”

“Believe me Legend, I don’t wanna just leave them out there either but we have no idea how long we would have kept going before we found them. We shouldn’t get too far from everyone and we still have a lot of our stuff here,” Sky said apologetically, his eyes drooping.

Time sighs and rubs his eyes, his own exhaustion catching up with him. He looks over at them as he says, “Well, as much as I want to help them, you were right to come back. We’re safer together, as this has shown us. Everyone go to bed and at first light we’ll follow Wolfie and find them.”

“What if they don’t have that much time?” Four asks, his voice bleeding concern. Time nods and says, “I’ll make sure they do.”

The three give him questioning looks, but when they see he won’t elaborate they concede and go to their bed rolls. All but Legend. Time is about to tell him off when Legend says, “I’m not going to pry. I just wanna know if you have watches set up.”

“Warriors managed to tell me he wanted last watch before he fell asleep. Why?”

The veteran snorted, then said, “And I suppose you were going to take both the other watches?”

Time shrugs and replies, “If need be.”

“Not happening Old Man. You look beat. I’ll take first watch.”

Time doesn’t have the energy to argue and so he nods in acknowledgement. Legend settles by the fire as Time prepares for bed, then digs through his bag. He hadn’t had to use this for a while, but he was always glad he held on to his old items for they always proved useful. He grasps the mask in his hand as he sits by Legend, staring at the fire. He can feel the veteran’s gaze burning into him for a bit before the pink haired hero says, “What the heck.”

Time looks at him with raised eyebrow and Legend’s look gets crosser as he says, “Go the heck to bed. I’m first watch.”

Time chuckles and smiles lightly as he says, “Don’t worry, I won’t be up much longer. Just need to see something.”

Legend raises his eyebrows, looking half curious and half disbelieving, but finally scoffs and says, “Fine, but make it quick.”

Time nods again, clenching his mask tighter as he stares at the fire. They sit there for a bit, Legend’s gaze continuing to burn into him, and he can just about feel the veteran’s patience snap when the bushes rustle and Legend is jumping up with weapon drawn, only to relax when he sees Wolfie.

“Ah, you’re finally here,” Time tells the wolf. His Pup looks guilty as he pads over and places his head on his knee. Confused, Legend sheathes his weapon and sits back down, staying quiet as Wolfie huffs. Time holds up his mask to the wolf and says, “Mind if I ask a few questions?”

The Pup’s ear flicks, his eyes looking at the mask curiously, before he huffs again and Time takes that as his go ahead. Putting on the Mask of Truth, Time says, “Where is Wild?”

“ _The Yiga took him_ ,” his protege whines.

“Where?”

“ _I don’t know, but I was following their scent and… what if they’ve already killed him? I just want to go get him but you guys need rest-_ ”

“It’s alright Pup, we’ll save him.”

“ _Can… can you really understand me with that mask on?_ ”

“Yes. Now, get some rest, we’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

His Pup is speechless for a bit, but then says ok and goes over to the bedrolls, laying down on Wild’s. Time sighs and pulls the mask off as Legend says, “What the heck was that?”

“I can speak to animals with this mask. He said Wild was taken by Yiga.”

Legend jumps up at that and says, “Then what are we sitting here for, we need to go get him!”

“Keep it down, you’re going to wake someone.”

“Good!”

“Everyone needs their rest after that fight, Legend. I’m worried too, but we’ll need our strength.”

Legend stares at him, his hard face softening. With a sigh, Legend sits down with a defeated slump and says, “Then get to bed. We’re leaving early.”

Time huffs but doesn’t complain as he gets up, puts his mask away, and lays down in his own bedroll. He can feel sleep weighing down on him, trying to pull him into slumber, but his eye can’t leave the furry form of his protege. He knew that boy would try harder than anyone to save Wild, so he knew he’d done his best, but he also knew that the Pup would be beating himself up for not saving him. He’d have a talk with him tomorrow, but for now, they both needed their rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you couldn't tell, Legend does know about Wolfie being Twi at this point. Also, while Shadows of the Broken I will always originally write via live write, this one I don't plan to do any live writes. Well, maybe one chapter, but that's a special circumstance. So you'll always see it here as soon as I've written it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wha- what is this? Another chapter already? I can't believe it either but my fingers had that itch that only writing could satisfy. And, well, you got this.
> 
> the song that has been helping fuel all this is Running with the Wolves by Moon Fang. I normally am not a fan of songs that are so yelly, but this one is actually really good and catchy.

It ends up not being that hard to wake everyone at dawn. It seems that everyone had been worried enough to not complain and just start getting ready immediately, which was a relief. Time could feel the need to move creeping up on him, making him pace. They’d all just had some light snacks, their stomachs too nervous for much else right now. Soft fur touched his fingers and he looked down to see the Pup there. It seemed he was sticking to his wolf form for now. Looking around, he saw that the only thing still being packed up were Wild’s things. He sighed, looking back down at his protege and noticing he’d been idly running his fingers through the wolf’s fur. He huffed in amusement and patted the wolf before pulling his hand back and saying, “Alright, let's head out.”

Twilight immediately dove into the brush, walking briskly with his nose twitching. The others followed behind, trying to keep up a swift, steady pace. They stayed quiet as they watched the wolf stop, his head bobbing up and down before he takes off again. They follow mostly in silence, a few boys occasionally needing to say something in the suffocating silence, but they always go quiet again and Time can’t bring himself to try and reassure them. He’s too worried about what could happen, the repressed fear for Wild from last night now rearing its ugly head. By the seventh time the wolf stops, Wind snaps and says, “Why are we stopping so much?! Will someone say something?! _Anything_?!”

“I assume he’s trying to find the scent again,” Four says at the same time Legend retorts, “We’re _focusing_ , Wind. We don’t want to distract Wolfie when we need to get there fast!”

“How do we even know that Time was actually talking to him? I mean, we’ve been walking all morning without seeing any sign of them! What if we’re going in the wrong direction? What if...” the boy sniffs before continuing, “What if they’re already dead?”

Looking back at the group, Time realizes that everyone seems disheartened by their lack of progress and he mentally scolds himself. He was so caught up in his worry for one that he didn’t notice the care the others needed. Legend sneers as he goes to continue but Time places his hand on the veteran’s shoulder and Legend whirls on him, anger and worry etched on his face as he catches Time’s grimace. His mouth snaps shut and he turns away as Time announces, “We’ll stop here for lunch and,” he looks to Wind, “I believe that they’ll be alright. They’re tough. And Wolfie has never let us down before, but I’ll let you see for yourself.”

The others begrudgingly set down their things, Warriors going to start a fire. It’s agreed that Sky will cook this time and the Pup runs off into the trees as the rest of them settle. Time can feel Wind’s accusing gaze on him while he digs through his pack, reluctantly pulling out the mask again. He would prefer it if he didn’t have to show them the masks had power, but Wind needed reassurance and it was only the one… Time passed it to Wind, who took it and looked it over curiously, before saying, “What the heck do I do with this?”

The one eyed man held up a hand and looked towards the woods patiently. Wind huffed, but followed suit, the others quietly chatting or watching them curiously. Soon enough, the Pup came back, some plants grasped in his jaws, and walked over to Sky, handing them to him. Sky pat his head and Time whistled, causing the wolf to look over and see them waiting. He cocks his head and comes over, looking between them.

“Now,” Time turns to Wind and says, “go ahead and put on that mask.”

The boy hesitates, but does.

“And ask him your questions.”

The way Wind keeps facing him makes him think the boy is staring at him, but when he gestures to the wolf, the boy clears his throat and says, “How do you know where Wild and Twilight are?”

The wolf whines and twitches an ear and Wind freezes, turns to Time for a second, before turning back and continuing, “How do you know they were taken? What if they’re already dead?”

The Pup makes some more noises and shifts. Wind nods and sniffles a bit, before saying, “You’re right, of course they’ll be fine.”

He pulls off the mask, trying to subtly wipe away his tears at the same time, then hands the mask back with a quiet thank you. Time nods and puts it away while Wind pets Wolfie’s head. Then they’re eating, and it’s not bad, but not as good was Wild’s and they all feel his absence once again. That was enough motivation to finish and get back on the road, the silence consistent and their path wavering as the wolf tries to follow his nose. By the time the sun has gone down everyone is tired from the swift pace and thoroughly disheartened. His Pup whines, but they both know they need to stop. After dinner via Four, they set up watches and fall sleep quickly. Time rubs his own eyes, his emotions strung out, but there’s a reason he took first watch, even though Legend had scowled at him for it. Turning to the furry bundle beside him, Time nudges the wolf with his foot and sees an ear prick up, an eye cracking open to look at him.

“We need to talk.”

The ear lays flat and the eye searches his gaze. Carefully, the wolf shifts and faces him, looking at him like he’s a bombchu about to go off. Time huffs in amusement and pulls out the Mask of Truth again, hating how much he’s had to use it already. But hopefully this will be fixed after this. Putting it on, he asks, “Why haven’t you turned back yet?”

The ears flatten further and the wolf looks down ashamedly. So, something is amiss. He’d thought it weird yesterday but it hadn’t really bothered him until his Pup stayed a wolf _all_ day. That wasn’t normal. Time keeps looking at him, waiting, until the wolf finally gives in and answers, “ _I can’t_.”

Well, he hadn’t quite expected that.

“Why not?”

“ _The Yiga made it so I couldn’t_.”

Time quietly curses. Of all the things they needed right now. But he’s known something was up. It was why he’d decided to ask. So, they really were going to the Yiga to save both the boys, just not in the way the others were thinking for Twilight. The wolf whines and licks his hand, making Time chuckle and scratch his head as he says, “Then we’ll fix this.”

Twilight just sits there for a bit before lying back down and closing his eyes. Time sighs and puts his mask away. The rest of his watch is consumed with thoughts of this new information.

The next morning proves to be much the same as the previous morning, with them packing quickly and not eating much. Everyone is anxious to finally find some trace of their fellow heroes. It takes another lunch break and it nearing sundown for them to finally see something. A building in the distance across a field. This puts energy into their limbs and raises their spirits, enough so that Warriors challenges Legend to a race that all of them eventually join. The winner ends up being Four on Wolfie’s back, which some say is cheating, but the argument is dropped when someone points out figures on the walls. And then they’re all staring at the building crawling with Yiga, their spirits dampening and their faces hardening in determination. This is it. Time to save Wild and Twilight.

First order of business is getting in. Several ideas are proposed for how to take out the guards, but there are too many unknowns, like if anyone on the inside would notice, for them to try that. Eventually they decide on sending Wolfie and Four to investigate and see what would be the best way in, as the wolf can find Wild and Four is the smallest so should be the hardest one for the Yiga to find. The only problem is that waiting outside is pretty much torture. Wind shows his distress the most but Time can see that they’re all restless. It’s getting close to midnight when the pair finally get back.

“We found them!” Four says as soon as he’s close enough, panting and dirty but sporting a bright grin. Everyone is instantly up and asking questions and Four’s smile fades as he backs up.

“Enough,” Time says, halting their words, “Give him space.”

They back off and Four continues, “We found some cells and I could hear the guards talking about a hero. They said they’re gonna execute him tomorrow when their new leader gets to the outpost though.”

“Then we gotta go save him!” Wind exclaims as he jumps up, others going to follow before Time grabs the sailor’s collar and scolds, “He didn’t finish.”

Prompted to continue and the others being patient for now, Four says, “There are a lot of obstacles. With all the guards they’ve got as well as the secret doors and winding corridors it’ll be hard to get to them. We barely got out of there as it is.”

“You remember the way?” Time inquires. Four nods and Time says, “Then we’ll deal with those problems when we get to them. Everybody get ready, we’re going to try to stealth our way in but if there’s a Yiga in the way we’ll have to take it out. _Quietly_.”

The determined nods are reassuring as they strip of anything loud or bright and head toward the outpost. Four and the Pup lead the way, sneaking them towards a hole in the barrier. Sliding through proves rather difficult for Time’s size, but in the end even he is able to make it. Four motions for them to keep close, then moves onwards, going down the hall and turning right then stopping at a door. He motions for them to get in and they move quickly, shutting the door to the tiny storage area just as they hear voices outside. They’re too muffled to hear, but eventually they cackle and walk off. Four peeks out for a second, then slips out and the rest follow.

Four is fast and it’s hard to keep up when there are so many of them as he bobs and weaves seemingly randomly, but they’re not caught, though Wolfie had to run off and distract a guard for a moment for that to be so. They do run into another guard, but they bump into this one and are easily able to take him down silently. The Pup also has to take over leading them at one point, for Four got a bit lost, but with the next hall behind a fake wall who could blame him? That hallway led to two guards, one of which their wolf rushes and takes down. As the other stood there in shock, Legend pulls out a bow and takes him out. They exit the tunnel with weapons drawn, ready for more, only to find there are only two more next to a cell. Time and Warriors get them with their own arrows before they can do much more than reach for their horns.

“Twi?” a weak voice calls from the cell as the bodies drop and that’s it. Everyone scrambles to the cell, peeking in to find Wild huddled there, hood over his head and hugging his knees. There are shadows under his eyes but he looks so _hopeful_.

“Wild!” Wind shouts, Warriors quickly throwing his hand over the sailor’s mouth and shushing him.

“We need-” Hyrule starts to say, but the Pup is walking up with a key in his mouth and he finishes with a surprised, “Thanks Wolfie.”

Wild’s head raises as his eyes lock on the wolf, an expression of disbelief morphing to pure joy and relief as the door is opened. Hyrule hardly has time to move back before Wild is throwing himself at the Pup, hood falling back in his desperate embrace. He even starts crying and saying things through his sobs, though Time isn’t able to make out anything until Wild pulls back, wiping his tears and saying, “I thought I lost you.”

The wolf licks his face reassuringly and Wild laughs.

“But where’s Twilight?”

The moment is broken by Hyrule’s question. Wild frowns and glances at Time questioningly when he says, “I thought he was with you guys?”

“But he was supposed to be with you!” Wind cries, looking panicked. Uh oh. Time grimaces and turns to the only one that can help, asking, “Where is he Wolfie?”

The Pup sits there for a moment, ears drooping, then sighs and gets up, walking back towards the hallway. A horn sounds. Then another. And another. Until there are horns blaring all around them. Curses, they must have found out the heroes were here.

“Get ready,” he says, but it’s unnecessary as he sees the others already doing so. The Pup is pacing from foot to foot and whining, looking back at them then the hallway and back again. Time gets the message and yells, “Let’s go!”

They run after the wolf, weapons drawn and as armored as they could get in such a short amount of time. Time is curious where Twilight is taking them but doesn’t have time to dwell on it as some Yiga round the corner with bows drawn. Wild, who is borrowing Warriors’ bow, takes them out quickly and they’re on to the next hallway, rushing after the furry form of their friend.

At an intersection the Yiga have set up a blockade, but with the Pup lunging at one Time pulls his own blade and rushes them, catching one on the neck immediately and moving on to the next. A blast of ice freezes most of them and Warriors helps take out the rest. Time looks over in time to see Legend holding an ice rod and smirking before the wolf is racing off again. At the corner two Yiga step up but Hyrule gets one with a blast of fire magic and Four knocks the other into the wall with a gust of wind before he finishes it with his sword. And suddenly, they’re at a door, the Pup scratching at it desperately. This must be it. The way to help him. Opening the door, Time steps in only to have Twilight almost trip him as he rushes in, grabs something, then rushes out to Wild.

“My slate!”

Well, that explains what that was about. Now what in here looked like it could curse someone? And the wolf was off again. So, that was all that was in here. Back to the chase, They had one more encounter at a turn but Sky got the two no problem and they were off again. It was only once they were by the outer wall that they ran into problems. The guards on the wall could now shoot down at them but were hard to get with all the cover they had. It was frustrating, having to dodge all those arrows and not really able to do anything about it. There was a cry from behind him and Time looked back to see Sky with an arrow in his shoulder. Legend tossed a bomb at them in retaliation.

An excited yip caught his attention and he looked to find his Pup with his tail wagging. They were there. Charging onwards, Wind was able to take out some of the men on the wall with a well placed bombchu just before they reached the wolf, who was-. Leading them out? What? They were at the front gate. Twilight whined, dancing around and looking towards the walls as he waited for them. The others seemed confused too, but an angry cry from above forced their hand and they ran after the wolf, out into freedom.

They ran until there was no chance of pursuit without them knowing then Time stopped. Everyone else followed suit, panting and drenched in sweat. But he only had eyes for his protege. And the wolf was looking back at him guiltily.


	3. Chapter 3

A wince from Sky jerked his gaze to the hero. Legend was helping him sit, looking at the arrow afterwards and grimacing. Warriors was limping, a cut showing on Four’s cheek as he hands the soldier a red potion. Hyrule’s hands are glowing as he’s finishing healing Wind and the Pup has just walked up to Wild, sniffing him worriedly as the Champion sits down and reaches for his slate. Time himself had a few bumps that are uncomfortable, but he ignores them in favor of walking over to Sky and asking, “How’s the shoulder?”

“I’m,” a grunt interrupts Sky’s sentence and he finishes with a stuttered, “f-fine.”

“Oh, yeah, having a branch in your shoulder is totally fine,” Legend sasses while he digs in the poor hero’s shoulder, his patient clenching his jaw and making little noises all the while. Time pats his uninjured shoulder in sympathy and looks to Legend, who continues for a second longer before exclaiming in excitement and pulling the offending object free, a yell ripping from Sky’s throat. The Chosen hero slumps and sighs in relief while Legend throws the arrow to the side, pulling a red potion out of his pack and offering it to Sky. He gratefully takes it and Time leaves them be, turning to Wild. Hyrule is already there, healing magic active while Wild tries to tell him off and the Pup sits to the side, seeming satisfied. When Time asks how things are, Wild glares accusingly at Hyrule and says, “I already had a red potion so I’m _fine_ but Hyrule insists on wasting his magic on me!”

“I just wanna make sure you’re okay!” Hyrule complains. Wild deflates a bit, then goes through his slate again and pulls out a blue potion, pushing it into the other hero’s hands and stopping the spell. Hyrule splutters, “I don’t need this!”

“I can see that you’re injured too and I can imagine you’re running low on magic. Just take the darn thing.”

When Time looks closer, he can see that the hero is right. Hyrule seems to be favoring his right side. The traveler glances at him, then immediately shirks away from his gaze and down the potion. Satisfied, Time looks up in time to hear Four say, “Wait, how many potions did we just take?”

“I took a red potion,” Warriors says, his foot propped up. Everyone chimes in with what they took and Four’s forehead furrows in concern as he tallys them up.

“Four?”

“...With us down three red potions and a blue potion, we only have a blue potion left,” he remarks grimly. Everyone who took one looks away guiltily and Time is having none of it.

“You all took those because you needed them. We’ve still got one potion and I’m sure we’ll have the opportunity to get some more soon, so stop it.”

Time’s scolding seems to knock some sense into them as they go to stand up, but then Wind yawns and Legend muses, “You know, I’m kinda beat too.”

Time looks at him and Legend shrugs, “We’ll have watches set up. It’s late and we need rest, Old Man. Didn’t you give me that advice?”

Time grimaces, but nods in acknowledgement and relents. Preparations for the night are done slowly, all of them equally wary and tired, their eyes always straying to the outpost and Wild. The Cub doesn’t seem to notice, his attention taken by the pot and the tune he’s humming. The Pup seems content to sit beside him, pressed against the Champion’s leg. Wild’s hand strays to the wolf’s head for a second, scratching behind his ears, before returning to the task at hand. A small, soft smile creeps onto Time’s face at the sight. They’re certainly happy to be reunited. Soon enough the food is ready and passed out and my _goodness_ , Time had already forgotten how much better Wild’s cooking was. The chorus of appreciation from the others proved he wasn’t the only one. It was after Wind had finished shoveling his food down his throat that he finally asked the question, “What about Twi?”

It was suddenly quiet and TIme could feel all eyes on him as he looked at the boy, then glanced at the Pup while he replied, “I don’t know. But I’m sure Wolfie will lead us to him like he led us to Wild.”

The wolf continued avoiding his gaze, but he knew they were going to talk later. This seemed to satisfy the others for now though, as they nodded and went back to their food. The mood stayed dampened though, the reminder having lowered their spirits. It wasn’t until everyone was in bed, Four taking watch and Wild sleeping with one arm around the Pup, his face buried in the thick neck fur. Time almost considered letting them enjoy this and just sleep. Almost.

“Pup.”

A sigh. Then cobalt blue eyes peek up at him from half closed lids. Mask already on, Time asks the question.

“What is going on?”

Another sigh. The wolf looks away, avoiding his gaze.

“Twilight.”

No response.

“Link.”

The blue eyes close. Then, after a moment, they open again and he looks up at Time with pleading eyes as he says desperately, “ _Not right now_.”

...What? No-

“ _I promise it’ll all make sense, just, please._ ”

They lock eyes.

“ _I can’t just explain this_.”

“...Alright,” he says, putting the mask away reluctantly, “but I don’t like this.”

His Pup whines lowly and looks away guiltily. Time scratches his head in forgiveness and the wolf licks his hand. With that problem… solved, for now, Time lays down, but his mind keeps him awake long after Four has gone to bed.

A new day brings new challenges. Like keeping Wild with the group. How could he have already forgotten how hard that could be? It doesn’t help that he’s in a cheerful mood, pointing out everything they run across, like the Blue Nightshade and Armoranth that seem to grow abundantly around here. It _really_ doesn’t help that the Pup is getting distracted with him. He’d never have expected it, honestly, but it seems they’re both just too happy to be together again to bother with staying on track. It takes Legend getting sick of it and yelling at them for the two to finally stick close. Their progress speeds up after that, but Time feels kind of bad for them. Maybe when they finally fix Twilight they’ll take a few days and just rest. Things have been too crazy for the last few days anyways.

By the time the sun is setting again they still haven’t reached their destination and Time is getting suspicious. Is the Pup even leading them anywhere? But he had promised this would make sense and he trusted his protege, so he pushed the thought down and at dinner in silence, eyes on the wolf as he plays a game of tag with Wild, Wind, and Four. It only took a bump here and a nudge there to get everyone else joining in too though. And Time has to admit, lying there in the grass facing the stars with everyone else panting beside him, that that’d been the most fun he’d had in a while. That night everyone drops off to sleep easily and he’s almost certain they all slept well. The weight of their situation comes crawling back the next morning though, when Wild makes an extra bowl of food and everyone is reminded that someone is missing. The mood is more somber as they walk today, a desperate hope lying underneath that they’ll find their missing member soon. It’s when Time starts recognizing some of their surroundings that it finally clicks.

“Wolfie- Are you bringing us back?”

The wolf looks at him knowingly, then continues.

“What do you mean ‘bringing us back’?” Warriors asks, his confusion mirrored on the other’s faces. Time grimaces as the Pup speeds up and he follows, the others yelling for answers. It’s when they finally get back to the clearing that it seems to click for the rest of them.

“Isn’t this where we were attacked?!” Sky asks in surprise.

“We’re back at the start?!” exclaims Wind.

“It would seem so,” Time replies, eyes on the wolf sitting at the edge of the clearing. When all eyes turn to the Pup, the wolf gets up and trudges on, the sunset behind him elongating the shadows and making Time’s stomach twist. They follow quietly, confusion rife among them. Why? Why go all that way only to come back? Why not just come here first? He doesn’t get it. None of them do. But the Pup promised answers so he would trust-

([Sweater Weather](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pzOBI3PD8E) listen to this here if you wanna get in the mood. I was using this to get in the right mood for this bit when I was writing it, so I thought I'd share.)

The wolf had stopped on a small, inclined path. He sat near the top, facing them, his expression resigned and sad. Time began climbing, a large gathering of rocks to his right and a small drop off to his left. The moment seemed to stretch into eternity until he finally was beside his Pup, who looked him in the eye, then looked on. Time followed his gaze and his breath caught, not believing what he was seeing. He looked to the wolf again, who only blinked sadly at him. Then he looked back, moving forwards numbly. Lying there before him, a purple flower growing beside it, was a very pale, very dead Twilight. There was even a large, dried patch of blood in the grass. But the body looked like it has only been dead for about an hour? Time looked back at the wolf, who blinked solemnly as everyone else got there and stared in disbelief. He looked back to the body. This couldn’t be right. How could there be two Twilights at the same time?

Hyrule walks forward, confusion visible on his face as he quietly says, “Well then he can’t be dead.”

Everyone stays quiet as the traveler slowly kneels down, reaching over and gently putting his hand on the body’s neck- Only for an opaque barrier over it to shatter at the touch, it suddenly noticeable that it had been there before. Hyrule pulls his hand back quickly, but when nothing happens he tries again and his face falls, indicating the truth. But his face scrunches up and he raises his hands, the glow of his healing magic illuminating the lengthening shadows. Everyone holds their breath, hope holding out.

Hyrule’s expression turns sorrowful as water starts to collect in the corner of his eyes. This is all the confirmation they need and as his tears start falling Time can hear Wind starting to hiccup behind him. But this isn’t right. This _can’t_ be right. He’s right here with them!

“No.”

The surety in Wild’s voice has the tears pausing. The Champion whirls on the wolf, his fists clenched and anger waring with despair on his face.

“You’re _right_ here. So don’t show us this crap. What’s going on Twi?”

Time fumbles for his mask, needing to know just what his Pup was thinking when something curious happens. His Pup is becoming see through. Like a…. Poe. Practically slamming his mask on, the smarting of his nose is nothing compared to the pain in his soul as he hears, “ _I’m sorry, I really am. I just wanted to save Wild. I never meant to deceive you. You just wouldn’t have believed otherwise. You almost didn’t believe even with the evidence._ ”

He pulls off the mask and tosses it to Wild, turning away from the wolf and back to the body. _Twilight_. He could almost be sleeping, if it weren’t for all the blood and how pale he was. He can vaguely hear Wild yelling behind him, the world around him going fuzzy. How could this have happened? This wasn’t even that all that far from their old camp. Could they have saved him, if they had searched when their battle was over? Legend had even mentioned them and he’d- He’d let him die. 

Sobbing brings him back to reality and he looks over to find Wild throwing himself on the wolf, arms hugging his neck tightly and hands holding tight to the fur as Twilight gets more and more transparent. The Champion is burrowing his head into the wolf’s fur, the Pup returning the hug with his paw on the right shoulder and his head on the left. Everyone else has started crying, Legend and Warriors with silent tears and Wind with sobbing to rival Wild. Hyrule and Four are hiccuping, the traveler gripping tightly to Twilight’s wolf pelt, and Sky is just softly crying. Time suddenly realizes his own face is wet and that breaks him. He steps forward and wraps his arms around Wild and his Pup, squeezing tight in the vain hope that that will keep Twilight here. He slowly feels others join in, Sky going across from him and holding to his arm tightly. Time starts to break away when it gets hard to see Twilight and eventually, it’s just Wild left. Twilight pulls away, his Pup looking at all of them with love in his eyes before he howls, his body fading away long before his howl does. 

The darkness is like a warm blanket, slowing their tears and getting them to think again. Time turns back to the body, lying on it’s side with arm stretched out, like he was reaching for something before he died. Whether it was Wild or help, Time will never know, but it brings a fresh batch of tears to his eyes. He’d still been so full of life. So much he could have done. All gone, now. Reaching down, he puts his hands beneath the body and lifts it, carrying it down the path as the other’s sniffles start dying off, their curiosity overtaking as they follow him. As he walks, he can’t help but notice how limp, how lifeless Twilight is. He flops around so much and Twilight, Twilight should be big and strong, a quiet, steady presence that you could always talk to. This isn’t right. Reaching the clearing again, Time sets the body down and quietly asks, “Would someone dig him a grave?” 

Four, Legend, and Sky quietly offer and, without prompting, quickly get to making it. Sighing, Time carefully starts to strip his Pup, laying his things in a pile to the side until he’s down to his plain shirt and pants, boots still on but gloves taken off. Wild is knelt beside him and every time one of the Pup’s limbs fall to the ground lifelessly he visibly pales. Time agrees that it’s unsettling and tries not to do it anymore. With that done, Wild stands up and runs off. Time lets him. He’ll need some time. In the meantime, he looks up to see Warriors hugging Wind and Hyrule, who have both startled sniffling again and tears are shining in the soldier’s own eyes. 

Going over to the grave, they’ve been surprisingly fast and it’s already nearing completion, but Time asks for a spare shovel anyways and helps out. He needs something to do right now. Four sniffles once while they’re working and Time notices him struggling to continue through his tears, so he pauses a moment to hug him, which Four returns. When he pulls back Time lets him go. They work with single minded determination from then until it’s done, Time wiping his brow and looking up to see Wild back, dirt cupped in his hands with a purple flower sticking out. Wild catches his curious look and sniffles, “It was by him up there. I thought it was fitting.” 

Time nods and moves over to the others, who seem to be just sitting with each other and enjoying their companionship. 

“Ready?” 

His question gets blank looks, but life slowly comes back to those gazes and they quietly give affirmation. As they follow him to the grave, Time notes that the purple flower, or Armoranth as Wild is calling it, ah that’s what it was, looks very nice in place of a gravestone. Wild is by the body, hand squeezing it’s limp one. 

“I keep hoping he’ll squeeze back and- and things will just go back to normal,” Wild says as he gets close, voice breaking. Sighing, Time pats him gently on the back and the Champion reluctantly lets go, moving back so Time can come over. Carefully, Time bends down and picks up Twilight, holding him close as he steps into the newly dug grave. Putting him down, Time rearranges him so his hands are on his stomach and his cursed necklace is over his heart on top of his shirt. The Pup would want it buried with him. Then he’s out and everyone staring, eyes glossy all over again. 

“I’ll miss you,” Wild hiccups, “And I’ll never forget you. I promise.” 

“Why do you g-gotta leave too?” Wind sniffles, barely holding back the tears. 

“Y-you were a good friend,” Four stutters, fists clenched tightly. Warriors steps up and wetly chuckles, “Who would have thought the ranch hand was a big soft dog?” 

“You’re a jerk for doing this to us,” Legend whispers vehemently. 

“You should have gotten to live more,” Sky mumbles. Hyrule can only sob, “T-thank you f-for helping u-us.” 

“You were good, Pup,” Time starts, “I was looking forward to seeing what you’d do. I’m sorry things had to end like this.” 

They stand there in silence a moment. Gosh, Malon was better at this stuff than he was. Oh no, Malon. How was he going to explain this to her? She’d even been worried about them and he’d had Twilight help reassure her. Now look where they were. Taking a deep breath, Time pulled himself from his head and grabbed a shovel, reluctantly putting dirt back in the hole. The others slowly come over and help and before he knows it the hold is filled in. And he’s gone. Forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Armoranth=Globe Amaranth  
> Blue Nightshade=Lily of the Valley
> 
> Purple Globe Amaranth-means unfading affection  
> Lily of the Valley-can mean a return of happiness
> 
> Did you guess that he was dead before the reveal? [poll](http://poal.me/pwa8cw)
> 
> I thought about having this be the ending. I really did. But I'm a sap so I changed it. I was also going to make this chapter longer. It was already too long so you'll have to wait for more in the next chapter but I mean, it's nearly 5 in the morning so can you blame me for stopping?
> 
> I also did a bunch of research on decay and rigor mortis for this, so that's in my search history now, but it gave such gross imagery that I decided to scrap all that and use magic instead. You can still look it up if you want to see what them coming upon his body would have looked like, but be warned cause it's gross. Speaking of, there was a lot that you'll probably be confused about and I was going to explain it but I couldn't find a way of doing so properly/well, so I'm saving the explanation for later. I promise it'll be explained though. (Remember that special circumstance I mentioned? That'll be it.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a very long chapter. very long. sorry to those who don't like those.
> 
> I was honestly very hesitant to use the Yiga. And that’s for one reason alone. I didn’t wanna use Wild's Hyrule. So many, SO many fanfics take place in Wild’s Hyrule and I like it well enough but I wanna see everyone else’s homes too. So I was determined to never write a fic in his Hyrule. You can see how long that lasted. But I don’t think I’ll do it often, not unless the idea I have requires it. Also, I’m sorry for some of my sentences cause their structure is way off. But they still get the point across so I figure, I’ll come back to my fics and look over them again someday, editing them to look better, but I wanna wait until it’s been so long since I wrote it that I kinda forgot what was even in it so I won’t miss anything. So, that’s my plan for this fic. Sorry to those that have to deal with it in the meantime. :D
> 
> ok, normally I just put songs up here that I was listening to to put me in the mood the chapter needed, but this one is, one, amazing on it's own, and two, absolutely **perfect** for this, so I highly recommend checking it out at least once. [From the Grave](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hfvPZcK1sM)

The fabric is rough and worn from use, but it fit him so well that Time is reluctant to get rid of it. He sets the clothing off to the side, leaving it’s fate for later, as he pulls the wolf pelt out of the pile. It’s not hard to know who this will go to.

“Cub.”

He winces as soon as it’s out of his mouth, the word coming out on reflex, as Wild flinches and looks over at him with haunted eyes. Time grimaces as he holds out the pelt, the Champion’s eyes watering again and he gets up, reaching for it shakily. His fingers close around it and he brings it up to his face, burrowing into it and holding it tightly in shaking fists. He stands there for a moment, then takes a shuddering breath and pulls it away, walking back to his spot and sitting back down. Time was a little unsure about giving away the Pup’s things at first, but seeing Wild like this just because of the pelt, he’s sure Twilight would have wanted this.

He eyes the chainmail, contemplating on if he should give that to someone who needs it, but all he has to do is imagine wearing it himself and he shudders, putting it off to the side with the clothes. No one would want to wear the armor their brother died in. So, the pack it is. Opening it, he is immediately blasted by wind and jerks back, something flying out of the pack. It hovers there, wind whipping around it, and it takes Time a moment to notice what is causing it. It’s a boomerang. A boomerang?

“I am the Fairy of Winds,” it says, stunning him further, “I have seen that you are all great heroes in your own right and… I am sorry I could not save my wielder.”

Time is stunned. There was a fairy in that boomerang the whole time? No wonder it had magical abilities.

“I still wish to aid you though,” it continues, “and I was wondering if the one with a love of birds would let me join him.”

“I guess?” Sky says hesitantly. The boomerang suddenly flies to him, startling them all, but lands gently in his hand and whispers a thank you to him. He stares at it a moment, then clutches it grimly and cradles it in his lap. Well, looked like that item found a new owner on it’s own. Somehow. Turning back to the packs brings back his somber mood and TIme tries again, this time opening the pack without incident and pulling out something he never thought his protege would have. A slingshot. Heh, turned out he’d had more of a childish side than Time had thought. Hmm, child... 

“Wind.”

The boy looked up, tears and snot streaming down his face, but he’d managed to stop sobbing. Time motioned him over and he stumbled closer, looking surprised when Time held out the item. The sailor took it gently, holding it delicately in his hands like he thought it might break.

“He’d want you to have it.”

Wind stares at him, then the words seem to hit him and the tears flow fast again. Time lets him walk over and cling to Warriors, crying once again, while he pulls out the next item. It’s a rod of some sort. Curious. And he knows someone that might be able to figure out what it does.

“Legend.”

The veteran looks over with red eyes, wiping them to try and get them back to normal. Stubborn as ever, he had only allowed himself to cry for a little before he was back to the tough guy act. But each person dealt with grief differently. TIme handed the rod over and Legend eyed it before nodding to him and moving back. He’d figure it out. Pulling out the clawshots, Time immediately knows who would find these useful in their barren Hyrule.

“Hyrule.”

The boy looks up, dropping the leaf he was playing with in his haste to come over. He wipes his face before Time hands over the items and the traveler takes them almost reverently. Time chuckles weakly and says, “These should help you get around.”

Hyrule clutches them to his chest as he leaves and Time pulls out something curious. It looks like a giant toy top. He’s not sure where you’d use it but someone else might be able to figure that out. Hm, how about…

“Four.”

The little man slowly gets up and shuffles over, gaze blank and looking miles away. Time places his hand on his shoulder and that seems to help ground him, the small guy blinking a few times then looking at him with multi-colored eyes flashing. Time gestures to the item and Four looks at it, staring for a bit, before he picks it up and pulls it to the side. The poor guy, he didn’t seem to be handling this very well. He’ll need to check on him later. Looking for the next item, he notices a necklace but ignores it for now in favor of something else he spots. Pulling them out, he chuckles. So the Pup had some iron boots too. Another item catches his eye and a conversation from long ago gives him the idea for what to do next. Pulling out the lantern as well, he calls, “Warriors.”

The soldier reluctantly extricates himself from Wind’s grasp, squeezing the sailor’s hand before he walks over. Time hands him the iron boots first, Warriors grunting under their weight, and Time tells him, “These can be extremely useful. Just be careful.”

The soldier nods, putting them down for a moment and Time takes that chance to hand him the other item as he states, “You were saying you needed one.”

Warriors looks down at the lantern and the tears start rolling down his cheeks again while he whispers, “I didn’t want to get one like this.”

Time takes a deep breath and licks his lips before saying, “You know he’d want us to use them.”

Warriors takes a shuddering breath, then takes both items back to his pack. Finally, Time digs through the rest of the items to see what’s left, before pulling out the largest item. A ball and chain. Before he can say anything, Legend speaks up, “I think you better take that, Old Man. None of us could lift it.”

Him? He looks down at the item, something Twilight hadn’t had to use much but… It should be his Pup using it, not him. He feels his eyes water again and considers. This is a very big item, heavy too, and they have a lot of smaller members. And with his golden gauntlets it’d be no problem to lift up. He nods in acknowledgement and puts it to the side for himself. Finally, he picks up the fishing rod and horse call. He knows just where the Pup would want these to go. He goes to call for the Cub but stops when he sees him. The Champion has replaced his black cape with the wolf pelt, hood pulled up and fingers pulling it tight around him, his knees up and face hidden in the shadows of his new item. Time is reminded of the aching pit in his soul just by looking at him, but pushes it aside in favor of walking over and gently saying, “Wild.”

The Champion shifts, his grip loosening a bit, then looks up at him. Time holds out the horse call first, explaining, “So you can call horses from further away.”

Wild hesitantly reaches for it, pulling it to himself and immediately putting it around his neck, fingering it.

“I’ll teach you the tune,” Time mumbles, then presents the other item, “He’d want you to learn how to do it properly.”

Out of the corner of his eye he can see this causes Warriors to smile sadly but Wild’s eyes start tearing up again, shakily reaching for the fishing pole and holding it close. Time lets him be and goes back to the pack, pulling out the last unique item. The hawkeye. This one is the only one he is unsure of. Any of them could find it useful. Time looks around at the heroes, each grieving in their own way.

“You should have that one too,” Warriors says quietly, “It’s a mask. You like masks. It just, fits.”

“You haven’t taken much for yourself, Time” Four interjects, voice wavering and weak, “You were close to him too.”

Time clenches it tightly. ...Yeah, he’d kind of like to have it. But how funny, that he gets another mask when his Pup dies. Looking down at the rest of the items, the sword and shield probably going with the clothes back to Twilight’s village, they need something too, the bow that will probably go with them since they all have one, and the bombs and bottles that need distributing, Time is just suddenly done and says, “Let's take care of the rest later.”

No one puts up any fuss and he takes that as affirmation, taking his new items and putting them in his pack. He sits by it, his hand coming up to his mouth as his eyes water more. This isn’t right. He should be sitting here with them, teasing Warriors and scolding Wild. Laughing and fighting with them. _Living_ with them. Not… _this_. He can feel the tears trickling down his face but he can’t really be bothered to care. There’s this hole in his heart where Twilight used to be and he doesn’t feel like he’ll ever recover from it. This is so different from just being forgotten. At least those people are still there and he can make new memories with them. With this… it’s just emptiness, cold and dark and inescapable.

How could the Goddesses let this happen? Or Hylia? Weren’t they on a journey for them? So how could all the goddesses just abandon them and let one of them _die_ -?! Wait. He takes a deep breath, his crying halted as he realizes- _There’s another goddess_. One not worshiped in Hyrule but- he’ll take whatever he can get. If she even helps him. What if this is something she doesn’t want undone, something she thinks is meant to be? ...He’ll take the chance. The least he can do is try and hope the goddess will be willing.

Rummaging through his pack quickly, Time fumbles with the Ocarina of Time, forever grateful that Zelda gave it to him. It helped him immensely in Termina and if it helps him here, he’s going to do something really nice for her. Because it could change everything. He stands up, the others staring at him, and for once, his smile isn’t forced; it’s hopeful and excited and just a bit manic but he can’t bring himself to douse his hope. The others are looking at him like he’s crazy, and maybe he is just a bit, but he can’t help but say, “I might have a way to fix this.”

Their gazes turn sharp as he holds up the ocarina.

“Now, this might not work,” he cautions, but can feel them getting just as excited as he is, “the Goddess of Time might not grant me her favor, but if she does…”

They get the idea and watch as he raises the ocarina to his lips. The Goddess of Time hasn’t always been kind to him, but she has actually helped him, something the other goddesses can’t say. So he’s hoping that she’ll be so kind once more. The ocarina reaches his lips and he starts to play as he pleads, _Please, Goddess of Time, please help me fix my mistake and get him back_.

The Song of Time echoes through the clearing, everyone holding their breath. The last notes ring out and suddenly, Time can feel the charge of magic all around him, familiar and oh so comforting in this moment. _She heard him_. Then everything goes white.

* * *

His blade cut through the Yiga as he spun around, their cry of surprise cut off when his sword found their stomach. Time stopped, blade still in the limp man, as everything suddenly caught up to him. _He was back_. Pushing the Yiga off his blade, he turns so fast his head hurts but he ignores it as he checks the others. Hyrule and Four were just killing the last man. From what he could see no one would die from their injuries. But someone else would if he waited. He threw his blade in its sheath roughly, racing to the packs and grabbing a blue potion, startled eyes following him.

“Time?”

He can’t be bothered to answer Legend as he races past, crashing through the trees up to a path that will forever be etched in his mind. He can hear footsteps behind him while he charges up it, Warriors calling out to him, and he gets to the top only to have his heart stop. _Twilight_. He’s lying there, arm stretched out, just like he was before and he’s oh so very still. But, even though there’s _so much blood_ , he’s pale, yet not deathly pale. Time falls to his knees, shaking as he reaches for the Pup’s neck. He waits a bit, holding his breath, please, just let there be _something_.

There it is. That small movement beneath his fingers gives him a spark of hope and he smacks the Pup’s cheek, he’s _not_ losing him again! He doesn’t wait for a response, pulling the Pup into his lap as he vaguely hears movement and voices behind him. Scrambling to open the potion, he uncorks it and tips Twilight’s head back, sending a trickle down his throat, then going down to his wound. He hadn’t wanted to look at it… before, but now he can see that it’s _bad_. That’s a large gash in his side, and the way it’s shaped it looks like the sickle was able to cut deep. Wait, no, there’s more than one mark, so it was _sickles_. Time feels his stomach turn but makes himself stop dwelling on it, because he can actually _do something_ this time. His Pup doesn’t have to die. He starts pouring the potion on the wound, watching as it flows over it, holding his breath. A shuddering, shallow breath. _But it’s a breath_. He pauses in his pouring as cobalt blue eyes open slightly, looking up at him hazily.

“Time?”

It’s weak, barely a whisper, but it’s _his_ voice and Time smiles at him, tears threatening to fall, as he says, “It’s me, Pup.”

Twilight watches him blearily for a beat more, before his gaze becomes clearer and his eyes widen. He weakly scrabbles at Time, eyes searching, while he quietly cries, “Wild! I have to-!”

“It’s alright, Pup,” Time soothes, those eyes back on him, “I know. We’ll save him, don’t you worry.”

The Pup watches him, the panic slowly seeping away and exhaustion taking its place. Time holds the potion up to his Pup’s lips, gently commanding, “Take some.”

Twilight takes a few gulps, his movements weak and slow, but he’s doing it. Eventually it all catches up to him though and he passes out. Time panics for a moment, pushing his finger to Twilight’s neck, but relaxes when he feels a pulse there, stronger than it had been before. His panic ebbing, he hears shifting behind him and looks over to see Warriors and Legend standing there, shock and worry written on their faces. He doesn’t blame them. He’d have never expected to come across this either, before. He turns back to the Pup, slowly pouring the rest of the potion on the wound, during which he says, “I’ll bring him to camp in a moment. Go get yourselves checked out.”

Legend splutters, then retorts, “You seriously think we’d be able to go back after that?! He almost died!”

“He seems to be recovering now. You guys need to get checked out and the others need to be checked up on and,” Time clenches his fist, bottle creaking under the pressure, as his voice breaks for a moment, “I don’t think I can do that right now.”

The others are silent, then Warriors mutters a quiet, “C’mon.”

A single pair of footsteps go back down, the other staying there for a moment more before they slowly trudge after him. The last drop of potion splashes onto the wound and Time lets the tears come freely, relief mixing with the grief. He barely made it. He was _alive_. No passing out his items. No broken hearts or solemn words. They were whole again. But he was so scared it wasn’t going to stay that way. Twilight wasn’t out of the woods yet. Drying his tears, he picks up his Pup, the ranch hand letting out a little groan as he does so. He grimaces, but starts down the path. They might not have time to be trying to make him comfortable.

This time is so similar yet so different. His Pup isn’t flopping around and still, he’s _breathing_. This isn’t a mournful trip, it’s hopeful. Yet the same dread sits in the pit of his stomach and it only starts to abate when he gets back to their camp. Everyone seems to be in good health, a few bandages to show for it, but they’re fine otherwise. Some gasps fly across the clearing and suddenly everyone is staring at him, Hyrule standing abruptly to walk over and Four going to the bags.

“Wait.”

They pause, looking at him curiously while he gently sets the Pup down, another groan coming from him.

“Let me guess, we only have three red potions and one blue potion left.”

“Uh,” Four looks in the bag, then back at him and blinks in surprise while he replies, “Yeah.”

Time grimaces. They’d only had one blue potion spare last time and he’d just used it on Twi. Did they really need the potions last time? ...Yeah, they kind of did. And he’s not going to risk losing anyone else. Not after this scare.

“We can’t use them.”

This gets an outcry, several arguments going over one another but Time gets the gist of it and yells, “I know he needs help!”

They quiet, some looking confused and others glaring accusingly. He continues, “But we need to keep the potions. He’s already had one. He could be alright without any more.”

“Alright, Time,” Hyrule says, “I can heal him instead.”

Time considers, but he had needed the potion for wounds and his magic. As much as he wants to, he can’t.

“Time,” Hyrule interjects, seeing the decision on his face, “Please. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Those words are like a punch to the gut. These boys don’t remember it, but they’d just lost Twilight. After going through that with them, who is he to deny them making sure the Pup’s alright? He hesitates a moment before relenting, “Alright. But don’t use too much.”

Hyrule nods determinedly, then they’re surging past Time, crowding around Twilight hesitantly. Hyrule has to shoo some people back before he begins the spell, his hands lighting up and wandering over to the wound. His brow furrows as he gets to work, the others watching him closely. It takes a while for him to finish, but by the time his hands stop glowing the Pup is breathing more deeply and that makes Time instantly feel better. His Pup might be okay. Hyrule sits back, and looks back at him, worry etched into his face, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. Time raises his eyebrow in question and Hyrule says, “He’s hurt bad, Time.”

Time sighs, “I know.”

With Twilight on the road to recovery, Time can feel his exhaustion creeping in. It’s getting late and as much as he would like to focus on Twilight, they have other things that need doing.

“Warriors, Legend,” he calls and they look over while he continues, “Would you clean up the camp?”

The two look around and look startled to find that it’s still a mess from the battle. They get to it and Time turns to the fire, not at all hungry but knowing they need to eat anyways. He makes the same thing he made last time, cause no one seemed to mind it much and following a pattern helps keep things on track, and looks up to see that everyone is still tidying up, besides Hyrule who has decided to keep watch over the Pup. Time goes over and sits beside him, noticing that while he was distracted they’d taken off the Pup’s shirts and bandaged him. Glad they thought of it, he asks, “How’s he doing?”

Hyrule keeps watching Twilight, humming in thought before answering, “I think he’ll recover.”

Time breathes a sigh of relief but then Hyrule continues, “But it’ll take a while.”

Time’s breath catches and he hesitantly asks, “How so?”

“Well,” Hyrule pauses a moment, scratching his chin in thought, before continuing, “that was a really bad injury. Some of his flesh was just _gone_. And they’d cut deep. If you hadn’t gotten to him when you did… Well, he’ll be alright now. He’ll just be pretty weak for a while.”

Well, not ideal but… enough. Time relaxes for a moment, letting himself relish in the fact that everything will be alright now. Hyrule licks his lips, seeming nervous, and Time knows he’s going to ask. He can also see that the others have finished up and are starting to settle down. So he stands up, effectively stopping Hyrule before he can even start, and calls everyone to dinner. It’s when they’re finishing up their food that Time answers it without prompting.

“Wild’s been taken by the Yiga.”

Wind sucks in a breath, only to cough as food tries to come in with the air. Warriors helps him not choke as Legend look at him incredulously and says, “What?!”

“Twilight told me before he passed out.”

They stare at him for a second, besides Wind, who is still choking on his food.

“Why are we only hearing this now?!” Legend protests, suddenly standing up and going to the packs.

“Because he’s far away from here and we all need rest. We can’t rescue him right now and he’ll be fine for a few days.”

“How do you know that?!” Legend seethes, whirling on him with challenge in his eyes. Time can understand, he felt that same urge last time, but with his foreknowledge he’s able to stay calmer. But he can’t-

“And how did you know Twi needed help?” Four asks, cutting through the tension, his violet eyes boring into Time. ...Maybe he can tell them. Honestly, maybe he has to. But should he? They’d wonder why he came back. And he’d have to tell them. Did they really need that heartbreak all over again? ...Didn’t they deserve to know? After all that he’d just experienced with them, all of them grieving together, didn’t they have a right to know what they had just barely dodged? It wasn’t right to keep it from them. They’re all watching him, still waiting for an answer, and finally, Time opens his mouth.

“I came back through time.”

Their expressions are skeptical and so Time pulls out his ocarina, showing it off and explaining, “This is the Ocarina of Time. Zelda gave it to me and, so long as the Goddess of Time wills it, playing the Song of Time on it will allow me to turn back the clock.”

They’re watching him more intently now, eyeing the ocarina as he goes on, “We rescued Wild. Things were going well. I wouldn’t have turned back things if it weren’t for…”

Here, he trails off, emotion closing his throat and his hands shaking minutely. He clenches his fists, willing them to still, then swallows and chokes out, “If it weren’t for Twilight dying.”

A sudden intake of breaths and all eyes turn to the Pup. He’s tucked into his bed roll, and looking over it seems he’s breathing well enough, but you could see his bandaged torso and that helped hammer home just how _close_ they had been to losing him again.

“We hadn’t even realized it. He died the day Wild was taken but we didn’t even realize it until we stumbled across him.”

He still couldn’t share that one bit, though. That was still the Pup’s secret to share. Four was watching him and Time figured he could tell there was more, but Four already knew, so he’d be willing to tell the small man the full story in secret. The rest of the boys seem to buy it though, their eyes locked on the injured ranch hand. Time sighs and stands up, joints popping as he stretches and says, “We should get some sleep. We’ve got a long trek ahead of us.”

This snaps most of them out of it and they schedule watches. Time is not allowed to participate and honestly, he’s fine with that. He probably wouldn’t do a good job right now anyways. As they settle down, Time finds himself unable to resist pulling his own bedroll next to his Pup’s. He’s not sure he’ll be able to sleep without having some insurance that he’s still here. Laying down, he notices Hyrule coming over and looking Twilight over, before the boy waves good night to Time and lays down himself. It doesn’t take long for Time to fall asleep. Staying asleep in the problem. He jerks away, sweating and looking around wildly until his eyes rest on Twilight, his hand going to the Pup’s wrist and feeling his pulse. From there he’s able to calm himself down, looking around to find Four, who is on watch, watching him in concern. Time waves him hand at him but Four’s frown only deepens and he comes over. Time sighs. So much for that.

“Bad dream?” Four asks. Time glances over at Twilight, _oh he’s still breathing_ , then back to Four and the young man grimaces, understanding. He sits down beside Time while he gets his breathing under his control, waiting patiently, until Time seems composed enough. Then he says, “You left something out.”

Time nods, semi glad for the distraction, despite it being about _that_ , and answers, “It’s not my secret to tell.”

Four goes to respond but Time holds up his hand and continues, “but you already know it, so I can share with you.”

Four clicks his mouth shut and listens patiently as Time explains, “He came to us as Wolfie and led us to Wild. We were able to free him but were confused when Twilight wasn’t there. I figured there’d be a way to change him back there, since he seemed stuck as a wolf, but he just led us back here and showed us…”

All Time has to do is look in the direction they’d found Twilight and Four nods, saying with understanding, “He was here, so you didn’t think to worry for him.”

“I just didn’t think that he’d be…”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have expected it either.”

“You didn’t. None of us did.”

They lapse into silence, just sitting there enjoying each other’s company and listening to the Pup breathe. Finally, Four gets up and thanks him for telling him, then excuses himself to go back to watch. Time isn’t in the least bit tired though. He sighs and turns to the Pup, only to notice a flower sitting by his bedroll. It was one of those blue ones with all the little ones hanging. He plucks it, smelling it’s sweet scent, before twirling it in his fingers. Is this a message from the goddesses? Even if it’s not, he has something he needs to do. Closing his eye, Time sends thanks to all the deities he can think of for this second chance, focusing on the Goddess of Time more than the others for her direct hand in this. Now, he just hopes he doesn’t screw it up. A tear rolls down his cheek and he chuckles wetly, wiping it away. Why is he crying now? The Pup is safe. But as he stares at the flower he finds that he just can’t stop them and finally, he lets his walls come down and loses himself in the emotions.

* * *

He’s gone. Gone, and Wild just had to watch, unable to do anything but scream. They’d been surrounded and they’d been focusing on his mentor, taunting him and baiting him into attacking, only for someone to come into the opening he’d just made. The chain mail was doing him wonders, but even Wild could see that some of the links were starting to break. If this continued on for too long they’d get all the opening they needed and that’d be it.

Wild slashed at them, trying to get them away from Twilight, but then someone would teleport behind him and he’d have to defend himself. He’d still been doing it though, slowly whittling them down. But it was going too slowly. And then his sword broke and he realized it was his last one. The Yiga had wasted no time in taking advantage of that, pulling his arms behind him and tying them together, then grabbing him. He’d yelled for help and looked up to see- Twilight with his sword through a Yiga, but a sickle deep in his side. Then the Yiga had ripped it out and it was just _so much blood_. It was gushing out of him and the Yiga were running away with Wild in their arms and all he could do was look over their shoulder and yell for his mentor, watch him try and follow them but fall instead and reach weakly for him and then- he couldn’t see him anymore.

The Yiga had taken him and killed Twilight and _they were going to pay_. He’d thrashed for all he was worth, cursing them and biting them and not giving up because _Twilight_ \- They’d thrown him in a cell and told him to stop whimpering, then left him be. _Whimpering_ , he’d make _them_ whimper! But now, after managing to get his bindings off, his fight was gone and all he could do was curl into a ball, hood pulled up and arms held tight around his knees. If only he’d done something different, he could have _saved him_. Now, not only had he let his old friends die, but he was letting new ones die too. And this one had even happened right in front of him. How pathetic, that he couldn’t even save his mentor. It was all his fault. All his dumb, stupid fault. And now, he was gone. Gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue Nightshade=Lily of the Valley
> 
> Lily of the Valley-can also mean rebirth
> 
> man, I'm really hurting these boys. after this they all need to have a good hug. and Time needs to have a good cry with Malon.
> 
> also yes, this is what Wild was originally thinking in the other timeline. (aka when it was accurate. :3)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a shorter chapter, but with what comes next it could potentially be very long if I kept going, so I'm just gonna leave that for next chapter.

It was hard for Time to wake up the next morning. He’d eventually fallen back asleep last night, but only once Warriors was up for the final watch and it hadn’t been all that restful anyways. But he’d managed to get up. (He didn’t really want to though.)

They only had some light snacks again, their anxiety making them lose their appetites. They tried waking Twilight up to give him some food but he hadn’t responded so they’d left him be for now. Hyrule had checked up on the Pup, healing him again (despite the fact he wasn’t supposed to be using anymore. Time had scolded him for it when he caught the traveler doing it on the sly.) and changing his bandages, Time watching over his shoulder. There’s a large scab over the wound, but it’s also red and swollen.

“Is it--?”

Time doesn’t even get to finish his question before Hyrule answers, “I didn’t feel any infection. It’s just really bad and still healing.”

Time sighs in relief. The Pup didn’t need an infection on top of everything. That’d probably spell his doom. He moves back from the traveler and lets him continue unhindered.

Most of their things have already been packed up, so Time helps out by finally packing his own things, then helping get Twilight’s things in order while Sky gets Wild’s things. (Not that there’s much with all the Champion can put in his slate.) It’s then that Warriors asks, “So who’s staying?”

Silence descends. Then Legend laughs harshly and yells, “We’re not leaving anyone!”

“He’s right,” Four says, everyone’s eyes turning to him as he clarifies, “Twilight shouldn’t be moved. And he can’t stay here alone. Someone will have to stay.”

Everyone’s quiet again. Four’s right. And they all know it. But Time has no idea if they can do this with even one member staying back. Honestly, just without Wolfie alone they might have a lot more trouble. How can they leave anyone else behind? Especially with what happened last time they separated? ...They’ll have to leave as few behind as they can.

“I’ll stay,” Hyrule says.

“No,” Time retaliates, and Hyrule looks at him in shock before he continues, “We’ll probably need you. Especially with us being so low on potions.”

Hyrule grimaces, but still he retorts, “But Twi needs me.”

Time doesn’t have the patience for this right now. He whirls on Hyrule and snaps, “I won’t risk losing anyone else!”

Hyrule shirks back and Time can feel everyone’s eyes on him. He sighs, rubbing his eyes, then more gently says, “I’m sorry, but he’s healing now and you may be more useful than ever with… Please, just come.”

Hyrule looks hesitant, his eyes lingering on the ground as he thinks. But then he meets eyes with Time and the determination in that gaze gives him his answer even before the traveler says, “I’m sorry Time. I’m worried about Wild too. And I don’t want any of you getting hurt either but-- I can’t just leave Twi here. Not like this.”

Time sighs. But he knows that if he hadn’t convinced him before, there’s no way he will.

“Fine,” Time relents, and Hyrule looks surprised at the answer, “But don’t exhaust yourself. And… be careful.”

Hyrule nods determinedly.

“I’ll stay too.”

Time glares at Four after he says it. Does Time really have to say it again? Four waves him off, saying, “I don’t like his chances if he’s alone, besides,” he cracks a grin here, a bit of amber mixing with the green of his eyes, “if Twi eats Hyrule’s cooking he really will die.”

Time can’t help it. He laughs. And the others join him, besides Four looking pleased with himself and Hyrule making an indignant sound. When Time’s able to get himself back under control, he claps Four on the shoulder and says, “Fine, but only because that’s true.”

“Hey!” Hyrule squawks, causing them all to laugh again. Time’s laughs taper off when his eyes drift to the Pup though.

He doesn’t like their chances, with three members gone from the rescue team, but he doesn’t want to risk Twilight or anyone else with him getting hurt either. Honestly, he’d like to stay himself, but with Wolfie not here and his own foreknowledge, he really needs to go. ...They’ll need to plan more carefully this time. If they can avoid alerting anyone then they just might be okay.

With that decision made, they finish getting their things (Hyrule and Four getting reset-up) and say their goodbyes to the two staying behind. Time notices that every one of them checks on the Pup at least once before they’re ready to go. Time finds himself glancing over just before they head out. His face isn’t as pale, his breathing seems to have gotten better since last night, and Hyrule gives him a reassuring nod.

Not able to do much else to help the group staying, Time says his own goodbyes then takes the lead on the way out. He just hopes things still go well.

* * *

Hyrule watches the steady rise and fall of Twilight’s chest nervously. When he’d healed Twilight he could feel how… bad, it was. That was an understatement, really, but… he didn’t really want to think of it again. And that’d even been after he’d had a blue potion. He can’t imagine what state Time found him in. It’d definitely been close. ...Too close.

Hyrule honestly didn’t have all that many people back in his Hyrule that he was close to. The princesses were about it. So when he’d found himself on this journey, where everyone actually _understood_ … He’d felt blessed by the goddesses. And like he finally _belonged_. (Even though he wasn’t much of a hero. Not like them.) They’d become his family. And he wasn’t going to let any of them die on his watch. _Any_ of them.

“Hey.”

Hyrule startles and looks over at Four, who’s passing him a bowl of soup. ...When had he started making food? Hyrule takes it and Four sits beside him while he takes a bite.

“You okay?”

Hyrule looks over at Four’s concerned look and snorts, then answers, “Am _I_ okay?”

He glances pointedly at Twilight. Four gets the idea, his brow furrowing further in worry. He looks back to Hyrule and says, “You were staring at him for a while. It’s lunch already and you didn’t seem to even notice. There’s not just physical hurts you know.”

Hyrule looks away, back to his food. He’d really been out of it for that long? It’d been a few hours since the others left when he sat here but he hadn’t realized how long he could sit there, lost in his own mind. That’d been foolish. What if they’d been attacked?

“I know,” he finally mumbles, “But I’m fine.”

The disbelieving look he gets from Four has him adding on, “Really. I am.”

Four sighs, taking a nibble of his own food, then looks up and says, “I’m jealous then, cause I’m not.”

Hyrule jerks in surprise, nearly dropping his bowl. Once he’s holding it steady again, he looks at Four, who’s watching him with a sad smile.

“You’re not?” the traveler asks in disbelief. Four shakes his head and answers, “How could I be? We just found out Time can travel through time, Wild has been captured by people whose only goal is to kill the hero, and Twilight died in a previous time, then almost died again and is now still not in the greatest shape. Honestly, even with all the stuff we see, this is a bit much. I’m kinda freaked out right now.”

“But you seem so calm.”

Four snorts, his smile turning sardonic as he answers, “I may seem that way on the outside, but trust me, this has gotten to me too.”

Hyrule looks back at his bowl, slowly stirring it’s contents, then softly says, “I’m not fine.”

“Hm?” Four asks, attention turned fully on the traveler. Hyrule squirms under his gaze, then repeats, this time more loudly, “I’m not fine.”

Four smiles softly at him, his gaze knowing, and Hyrule looks away again as he continues, “You’re right. This is hard and… kinda crazy, despite all we’ve already done and seen. I mean, time travel? Have to admit, that’s one thing I never saw coming.”

Four laughs at that and quietly says, “Yeah.”

“I just,” Hyrule glances at their sleeping friend again as he sadly and a bit sheepishly continues, “I don’t really have all that many people I care about like you guys. And to think of any of you dying? I just… I can’t let that happen.”

He can feel the tears building behind his eyes. This is exactly why he was trying to _not_ think about it. A shoulder softly bumps his own, and when Hyrule looks over Four is looking at the sky again, his own eyes shining with unshed tears as he whispers, “Me either.”

That’s enough to tip him over the edge, wet tracks making their way down his face. He’s been so confused and lost ever since Time had dropped that bombshell last night. But mostly, he’s been scared. Because Time had looked so lost and scared himself, and he was supposed to be the unshakeable one. If this was bad enough to shake Time so much he’d yell like that, then it must have been awful. And doesn’t ever want to experience it himself. Not in this time.

It’s once their silent tears have finally stopped and they’ve gone back to eating that they hear it. A moan and movement in the bedroll. They look at each other, eyes wide, then put down their bowls and scurry over to Twilight, who’s shifting around, a grimace on his face and eyebrows scrunched.

They wait with bated breath, staring at the Ordonian as he continues moving, then slowly cracks open his eyes. He closes them again, takes a breath, then opens them again and starts turning, wincing as he pulls at his wound.

“Hey, Twi, you should probably stop moving,” Hyrule says, but the rancher ignores him, even going so far as to try and prop himself up on his arm. Hyrule can see his arm shaking from the exertion and frantically says, “Twi! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

The injured hero groans, then goes to try to sit up (What is he thinking?!) as he whispers, “Wild.”

“Twi,” Four says sternly, going over and putting a heavy hand on the ranch hand’s shoulder, “You’re in no condition to be going after him. Time and the others are already on the way. Lay down and regain your strength while they take care of things.”

Twi blinks blearily at the multicolored hero for a bit. Then he grunts and lays back down, sighing in relief. Hyrule clicks his tongue in disappointment, shuffling to Twilight’s side and gently running his hands over the healing injury. Twi hisses at the contact, but all Hyrule has to do is scold him for moving and potentially reinjuring himself and the ranch hand stays quiet after that. (Though Hyrule can feel him involuntarily flinch a couple times.)

Satisfied that nothing seems to have been damaged, Hyrule retracts his hands as Four brings over another bowl and kneels next to Twilight, saying, “Hey Twi. You hungry? I’ve got some soup here.”

Good idea. He’d need some food to help progress his healing. All Twi does is grunt softly, but the boys take it as an affirmation, Hyrule going to help him sit up enough he won’t choke and Four holding the bowl. He’s honestly weaker than Hyrule thought he would be, especially with how he’d tried to get up earlier. (It was probably stubbornness that made him try that. They all seemed to share that problem.) Twi seems hardly able to support his own head, so Hyrule helps hold him steady, Four giving the ranch hand spoonfuls of broth. Twilight takes little gulps, but his energy seems to be running out fast and it’s not long before he’s nodding off.

Deciding that’s enough for now, Four puts the food away and Hyrule helps ease Twi back onto his bedroll, the injured hero already asleep again by the time he’s settled.

“He out?” Four whispers, and Hyrule nods. Four sighs, sitting by his food and picking up the now cold food. Hyrule joins him, and they finish their food in silence. Then Four quietly says, “Seems like he’s doing better.”

Hyrule nods, replying in an equally quiet tone, “I’m glad to see him trying to move, even though he shouldn’t.”

Four sends him a quizzical look and asks, “Why’s that?”

“Cause it means he’s recovering. Getting back to being his old self,” Hyrule responds, and Four’s confusion turns to understanding as he nods. They sit there in silence for a bit, mulling things over, when Four breaks the silence.

“Hey Hyrule?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna play a game?”

“...Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda have this headcanon that Hyrule can feel the wounds he's healing, so he knows what to focus on/put back together. I have no idea where I got the idea from, but I really like it so... there we go

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers! If you could drop a comment on your way out the door that'd be lovely fuel for keeping me writing this, but if you can't that's fine too. Thanks for dropping by and stay safe out there. ^^


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